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US grants India six-month exemption from sanctions on Chabahar port: MEA
Official spokesperson of ministry of external affairs Randhir Jaiswal said, “US grants India six months exemption from American sanctions on Chabahar port.”
The United States has granted India a six-month exemption from American sanctions on the Chabahar port in Iran, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
Responding to a question, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “For Chabahar port in Iran, we have been granted exemption for a six-month period on the US sanctions.”
The move will allow New Delhi to continue its engagement in the strategically important port project, which serves as a key trade and connectivity route to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan.
The latest US decision to grant India a temporary exemption comes a month after sanctions on the Chabahar port project in Iran took effect on September 29.
The sanctions were part of US President Donald Trump’s broader effort to step up pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme, a move that also affected India.
The restrictions specifically targeted India’s participation in the development of the Chabahar port. These measures followed the reimposition of wider United Nations sanctions on Iran.
In 2018, the Trump administration had made an exception for India, granting a waiver that allowed Indian companies to continue operations at Chabahar despite broader US sanctions on Iran.
However, shifting regional dynamics, particularly the fall of the Western-backed government in Afghanistan compelled Washington to withdraw the waiver last month, bringing the project under the ambit of its latest sanctions.
Russian crude oil imports
Responding to a separate query on India’s oil imports from Russia, Jaiswal said, “Our decisions naturally take into account evolving dynamics of global oil market.”
“We are studying implications of recent US sanctions on Russian oil companies,” the MEA spokesperson said.
Commenting on India’s ties with Washington, Jaiswal said New Delhi continues to value its partnership with the United States. “India-US relationship is a comprehensive global strategic partnership. We remain engaged with both countries to strengthen it further,” he said.
The US President Donald Trump's administration has announced a 50 percent tariff on all Indian imports, along with an additional 25 percent penalty targeting India’s continued purchase of discounted Russian crude oil. Washington has argued that New Delhi’s oil trade with Moscow indirectly contributes to financing Russia’s war in Ukraine.
